Milestone Asset Management LLC Buys 614 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Milestone Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 44.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,996 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 36.4% in the 2nd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,303 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,176,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,801 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $13,354,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 1,847 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,666,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at $702,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,558,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643 in the last quarter. Insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW traded up $10.77 during trading on Thursday, reaching $1,124.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 152,334 shares, compared to its average volume of 271,435. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $874.98 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1,122.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,063.45.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.43 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is 22.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $925.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $1,280.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,140.56.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services primarily in North America, Japan, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety, security, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance, and metalworking and hand tools.